Deep-sea sponges caught 'sneezing' in time-lapse photos

[Judi Lynn]

By Nicoletta Lanese - Staff Writer 2 days ago

Deep-sea sponges may not have noses, but they still sneeze.



Photos taken every hour from June 2013 to April 2014 show the expansion and contraction of the glass sponge Hyalonema, which resembles a blooming tulip.
(Image: © 2020 MBARI)

To the naked eye, deep-sea sponges seem to sit totally still, confined to one spot on the ocean floor. But in reality, the squidgy creatures move quite a bit and sometimes let out mighty "sneezes" by contracting their entire bodies at once.

You may miss your chance to say "gesundheit," though, because sponge sneezes happen in slow motion, according to a recent study.

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) caught the behavior on camera using time-lapse photography, according to a statement describing the study. Their cameras sit some 2.5 miles (4,000 meters) below the ocean's surface, at a long-term study site called Station M, situated about 136 miles (220 kilometers) off the central California coast. While perusing old time-lapse photos of the seafloor, one researcher caught sight of something unexpected.

"Everyone was watching sea cucumbers and urchins snuffling around on the seafloor, but I watched the sponge. And then the sponge changed size," lead author Amanda Kahn, a former MBARI postdoctoral scholar, said in the statement.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/deep-sea-sponges-sneeze-underwater.html

[dewsgirl]

1. Almost makes me feel bad for using them around the house.😳